Sweatshops -- Sew What?

SWEATSHOPS – SEW WHAT?

Written by 

Michael Rose

Imagine you are a young woman living in a Central American village without electricity.  Your father and mother talk about the wonderful opportunities they could find in America.  You’re thrilled to join them on their journey north.  Of course, the trip will be dangerous but you will survive, find a good job and help your family build a new life.

Unfortunately, when you land in Los Angeles you may find yourself trapped in a garment factory working seven days a week with no hope of even making the minimum wage.  Some workers are even held against their will.

When the INS and the LAPD raided a barbed wire enclosed compound in suburban El Monte they discovered 73 Thai nationals all from rural villages who’d been lured to LA by the promises of unscrupulous recruiters.  Now they were being held as prisoners and forced to sew designer clothes for the world market.

The raid prompted extensive news coverage and helped to revive the term “sweatshop”.  Older Americans remembered stories of the Triangle Shirt factory fire and the battle to organize immigrant garment workers on the East Coast in the 1930’s.  To many it was history repeating itself.

New York has passed the torch and today Los Angeles is the sweatshop capital of the United States.  Within its thriving garment district there are over 5,000 factories that employ over 140,000 workers.  These people have been exploited year after year for decades.

Not all sweatshops are ringed by barbed wire but we’ll find out that the conditions in these factories can be horrifying.  Talking to people who work in the sweatshops the audience will hear shocking stories about dirty bathrooms, rats and roaches, no air ventilation, and draconian work rules that don’t allow for bathroom breaks or lunch breaks.  We’ll see that all of those things that were common in the 1920’s and the ‘30’s are still in existence today.

One would think that the owners of these illicit factories would hide their enterprises in remote locations.  Surprisingly, sweatshops are operating right in front of our eyes.

They look like abandoned, empty buildings but they are actually garment shops.  Old bank buildings, old office buildings, buildings that look pretty much torn down are factories employing thousands of people making shirts, pants, coats and shoes that are sold all over the world.  The woman who sews your blue jeans may only make 10¢ for the pants that will be sold at Nordstrom’s for almost $90 a pair.

There is very little enforcement of any wage or health and safety standards.  It starts with registering with the state.  Since most of the shops don’t register they’ll never be inspected.  Even if they did register there aren’t enough inspectors to do the job.  If a factory runs afoul of the law they simply go out of business and set up down the street under a different name. 

While the problems seem to be overwhelming, a coalition of law enforcement agencies, community groups and the workers themselves, is beginning to make a difference by helping those trapped in the sweatshops fight for their rights.

Our story will end with a model for the future.  A fellow Thai national who’d heard about their plight contacted the 74 Thai workers who were rescued by the INS.  He wanted to help.  He proposed that they establish a garment factory that would do everything right.  They did.  It’s spacious, air conditioned, has great lighting and is run by the women as a cooperative.  Funny enough, it’s even profitable.

Unfortunately, others have yet to try this model and thousands of other men and women are toiling for long hours, for meager pay in unhealthy and unsafe conditions.